Cheap Home Decor Ideas: How To Decorate on a Budget

Dreaming of a stylish home that reflects your personality? The cost of decorating can be daunting. The good news is, that you can achieve a luxurious, bespoke look without breaking the bank. It just takes a bit of creativity and resourcefulness. In this post, we discuss how to decorate on a budget, by using some cheap home decor ideas.

How To Decorate on a Budget

Budget-friendly decorating might seem challenging, but it’s entirely possible. Start by focusing on the spaces that need the most attention – these will give you the biggest impact for your efforts. Then, unleash your inner designer! Explore what you already own, hunt for treasures at thrift stores, try some DIY projects, and seek out free or inexpensive decorative items.

First, prioritise the areas of your home that need the most help and will give you the most pleasure, when you give them a facelift. Then shop your house, go thrifting, get DIY-ing, and look for free or cheap home accessories.

There are so many great ways to zhuzh up your home.

Here are a few of our favourites:

Cheap Ways To Decorate Your Home

Fabulous Freebies

Another of our favourite cheap home decor ideas, if you’re looking to create a beautiful home — at an affordable cost. Is freecycling! There are so many places where you can get great stuff for free.

Join ‘free-to-have’ Facebook groups, where people give away items they no longer need for free. These groups can be a treasure trove of decorating items, from throw pillows to picture frames to small furniture pieces.

Another great option is to search for ‘free printables‘ online and create custom homemade wall decor. Countless websites offer free printable art, quotes, and other designs you can easily print at home and frame for a personalised touch.

Go skip dipping! If you see a skip filled with possible ‘treasure’, ask the owner if you can take a look. If you’re trying to decorate on a budget, this is a great option. It’s a great way to find free furniture and other decor items you can repurpose or update with a fresh coat of paint or new hardware.

Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

Shop Your Home

Ever heard the phrase ‘shop your home’? It’s such an easy way to save money on home decor! Just use what you already have.

Turn the hallway table into a nightstand, and use the former nightstands as end tables by the couch. Add faux flowers to your old front door wreath to create a seasonal spring or summer wreath. Group a random collection of things in the same colour and place them all on a tray for some coffee table decor. Move the bedside rug to the living room for a new look.

It only takes creativity to make your ‘old’ items feel new and exciting again.

Cheap home decor ideas - add faux flowers to an old wreath to create new seasonal decor.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Second Hand Treasure

Second-hand shops, charity shops, thrift stores, and websites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace are great places to find home decor products like candle holders, vases, frames, and mirrors.

For thrifting the best preloved bargains in the home decor section of second-hand stores, it is a requirement to have patience and a willingness to hunt and wait for the perfect find.

Whether in real life or as an online marketplace, there’s always a second-hand bargain to be had. Thrifting has become a big business; sometimes, buying at an antiques centre or junk-shop can be just as expensive as buying something new.

But keep your eyes peeled! There are still treasures to find.

Reuse, Recycle, and Repurpose

Let your imagination go free, and see how to reuse and repurpose items in new and exciting ways.

Are you looking for an overhead lamp? You may have a wastebasket that can be the perfect lampshade. Stack some fruit crates for an instant bookshelf and lamp stand in one. Reuse a big old tablecloth as a cover for your sofa cushions. Or create a DIY indoor planter from a recycled coffee tin. The possibilities are endless!

Cheap home decor ideas - create a DIY indoor planter from a recycled coffee tin.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Bring The Outside In

One of the best ways to decorate your home, especially when adding seasonal touches to your home decor, is to use nature’s gifts.

Vases with fresh green leaves in spring, little flower bouquets in summer, and bowls filled with pine cones, nuts, and seed pods in fall, are all very decorative and don’t cost a dime.

All you need for great budget-friendly seasonal decor is a keen eye for free natural decorations. A simple walk in the park or the woods can give you plenty of home decorations.

Do It Yourself

Fifteen minutes of Pinterest browsing will give you many ideas to make lovely wall decorations, seasonal home accents, wreaths, or pillowcases. So many beautiful and valuable items for your home are easy to DIY.

You usually only need a hot glue gun and basic supplies like scissors or staplers. This way, you can even turn a pile of scrap paper into beautiful decorations — like these paper circle fans.

DIY decorating is fun and a great way to get unique home decor without breaking the bank.

Cheap home decor ideas - turn a pile of scrap paper into beautiful decorations.
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Swap and Reorder

Decluttering and simplifying almost always give an instant upgrade to a space. And a really easy method to spruce up your home with a new look that doesn’t cost a penny is to take away half of the currently displayed items.

Put away some extra throw pillows, blankets, rugs, accessories, and baskets. Then in six months time, swap out what you currently have on display, with what you have put away.

If you last saw it half a year ago, it will look fresh and new again, giving your home a fresh vibe.

Make It Over

It is easy to make old look new again, and the only investment you need is time, creativity, and a few basic supplies. Making pillow covers is a true beginner’s sewing project, and painting furniture to give it a new look is super easy too.

We painted a secondhand IKEA chest of drawers in the cottagecore style, rather than buying brand new.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Suppose you are willing to invest a little bit of time and effort. In that case, you can create a personal, cohesive, and beautiful home from all of your gifted, thrifted, and swapped furniture and decorations by giving them a makeover so they mix and match perfectly.

Buy It Cheap

And if all else fails, there are places where you can buy brand-new home decor items on a budget. Ikea, Dunelm, and The Range are probably the most well-known places for great deals on budget home decor. But many more home decor stores carry budget lines to get new and trendy decorations.

How To Make Cheap Home Decor Look Expensive

Even though most of us take pride in decorating our homes on a budget, we don’t want our homes to look cheap or tacky. There are a few golden rules to make your home look expensive and professionally designed.

Consider Your Lighting

Great lighting can elevate a room from ordinary to extraordinary. A lighting plan doesn’t mean choosing costly lamps but balancing direct and indirect lighting.

It involves placing some things in a highlighted centre while at the same time enhancing the mood and atmosphere by allowing shadows and darker areas in the room.

Invest Wisely

If you have some room in your budget, use it wisely, and don’t scatter it by buying lots of little things. Instead, splurge on one or two statement items that will make a room you will love for years.

Choose timeless pieces like a great wardrobe, some impressive artwork, or a beautiful chandelier that will set the tone for a whole room.

Unclutter and Go Minimalist

If you look at images of professionally designed homes, you often see they are relatively uncluttered and minimalist. Use home accents sparingly. Plenty of free and empty space exists in the room and on surfaces.

When it comes to expensive-looking but cheap home decor, ‘less is more’ is the way to go.

Create Your Perfect Aesthetic

Creating an aesthetic that reflects your style and personality is easy if you choose your colour palette carefully. Whether you like a toned-down neutral palette or vibrant colours, consider your colour theme and stick to it.

Working within a well-chosen colour scheme is the best way to get a professionally designed look for your home.

When you collect your home decor from various sources and over time, it is vital to ensure it all works together and creates a purposeful look and feel.

Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

Budget Home Decor Made Easy

When decorating your home, we’ve shown that there are plenty of cheap home decor options. From DIY home decor projects to furniture hacks, countless ways exist to create eye-catching and stylish home decor on a budget.

Save money on furniture and home decor accessories by learning to shop second-hand or at discount stores. You can also get creative with DIY projects, like repurposing old items or making decor pieces yourself, to make vintage style work in your home.

And remember the power of a fresh coat of paint on old furniture or new furnishings to give a room a new look. With some creativity and patience, you can create a beautiful and inviting home without spending a fortune.

meet the author: Marianne Songbird
Marianne Songbird
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Marianne Songbird is the founder of Songbird, where she hopes to inspire everyone to create a home they love, one DIY project at a time. She shares anything from craft ideas to home decor inspiration and from DIY projects to decorating hacks. Originally from the Netherlands Marianne and her husband Lex are currently renovating a 250-year-old farmhouse in Germany.

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